title: Mycotherapy of cancer: an update on cytotoxic and antitumor activities of mushrooms, bioactive principles and molecular mechanisms of their action.
abstract: Mycotherapy is defined as the study of the use of extracts and compounds obtained from mushrooms as medicines or health-promoting agents. The present review updates the recent findings on anticancer/antitumor agents derived from mushroom extracts and their metabolites. The increasing number of studies in the past few years revealed mushroom extracts as potent antitumor agents. Also, numerous studies were conducted on bioactive compounds isolated from mushrooms reporting the heteropolysaccharides, β-glucans, α-glucans, proteins, complexes of polysaccharides with proteins, fatty acids, nucleoside antagonists, terpenoids, sesquiterpenes, lanostanoids, sterols and phenolic acids as promising antitumor agents. Also, molecular mechanisms of cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines are discussed in this review. Findings with Antrodia camphorata and Ganoderma lucidium extracts and isolated compounds are presented, as being the most deeply studied previously.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biological Research "Sinisa Stankovic", University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia. dejanbio@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Višnja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Popović
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Živković
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Davidović
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stevanović
authors.forename: Dejan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stojković
mesh_terms: D000363:Agaricales / Q000737:chemistry*; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D055491:Antrodia / Q000737:chemistry; D005936:Glucans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D020940:Reishi / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D005936:Glucans; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011506:Proteins